Thinking long-term

Yes, the markets have been crazy. The news is bad all around. Gloom, doom, and the sky is falling. I'm not a trader, but like many of you I am an investor through my various IRA accounts. Like many of you, I sure wish I had sold off stocks and mutual funds when the market was bumping along at all-time highs. I didn't, and here I am.

If you have a long-term view, as I do, I just thought I'd tell you I think it's a good time to begin returning money to the market. Not sure we've hit bottom? Neither am I, but I know we're a lot closer to it than we were 6 months ago. Long-term, this period will look like a good buying opportunity for people thinking long-term. Everything's on sale.

I'm 30-something. For the first time in a long time, today I'm adding a little money to companies I believe are in a great position to benefit from long-term trends: Alterantive energy, health care, Apple, etc. I added some shares of Intuitive Surgical. These stocks have really been hammered. But robotic surgeries will be the rule for virtually all operations within a generation. But do you think Apple is going anywhere? Anybody think we're not going to move to solar power in a big way?

If you are retiring soon, or in retirement now, I sure hope you're mostly in safe investments. But this could be a good time for you to put modest part of your portfolio in blue-chip, dividend-paying stocks that have been beaten down. The next few years could be rocky -- Go for companies that make things people need through thick and thin. But stay away from financials -- they're too risky for retirees.

Oh, and pay down debt, especially credit card debt. That has a guaranteed rate of return equal to your card's interest rate. Right now, that's a GREAT guaranteed rate of return.